Introduction. The mangaba isan exotic fruit from the Brazilian Cerrado that presents high antioxidantactivity and may benefit human health. Its antioxidant activitymay be associated with the presence of bioactive compounds suchas carotenoids and antioxidant vitamins. The physical and chemicalcharacteristics, nutritional value, carotenoids and antioxidantvitamins were evaluated in mangaba from the Cerrado of Minas Gerais,Brazil. Materials and methods. Titratable acidity wasdetermined by volumetric neutralization, pH by potentiometry, solublesolids by refractometry, moisture by gravimetry after oven drying,ash by calcination in a muffle furnace, proteins by the micro-Kjeldhalmethod, dietary fibers by the gravimetric non-enzymatic method andlipids by gravimetry after extraction in ethyl ether. Vitamin C(ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acids) and carotenoids (α-carotene,β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene) were analyzed by HPLC-DAD.Vitamin E (α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols and tocotrienols) and folates(tetrahydrofolate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate)were analyzed by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Resultsand discussion. Mangaba showed a high pulp yield (80.08%), moisture (83.0 mg×100 g–1) anddietary fiber content (2.3 g×100 g–1). Mangaba presented β-carotene,β-cryptoxanthin, ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol; α-, β- and γ-tocotrienols; tetrahydrofolate,5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate, and it can beconsidered an excellent source of vitamin C (165.8 mg×100 g–1) andfolates (98.3 μg×100 g–1). Carotenoid and vitamin E contents were 0.12 mg×100 g–1and 2,732.5 μg×100 g–1, respectively. Conclusion. Mangabapresented a high pulp yield, and several carotenoids and antioxidant vitamins,and can be considered an excellent source of vitamin C and folates.

Introduction. The Brazilian Savannah presents a wide vegetable diversitythat produces fruit that have unique characteristics and should be better characterizedand exploited. The agricultural-economic exploration of the fruits from the Savannahcontributes to income generation and may play an important role in improving humannutrition. The aim of our research was to evaluate the physical characteristics (diameter,height and mass), chemical composition (moisture, ash, proteins, lipids, dietary fiber,titratable acidity, soluble solids and pH), occurrence and content of vitamin C (ascorbicacid and dehydroascorbic acid), carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin andlycopene), vitamin E (α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols and tocotrienols) and folates(tetrahydrofolate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate) in pequi fromthe Savannah of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Materials and methods. Analyses ofcarotenoids and vitamin C were carried out by HPLC-DAD, and vitamin E and folates by HPLCwith fluorescence detection. Results. The pulp of cooked pequi presented highcontents of dietary fiber (9.9 g·100 g–1), lipids (33 g·100 g–1), carotenoids (8.11 mg·100g–1), vitamin C (14.33 mg·100 g–1), vitamin A (514.38 RAE·100 g–1) and total energy(317.19 kcal·100 g–1). Contents of folates and vitamin E were 5.1 μg·100 g–1 and 110.52μg·100 g–1, respectively. Conclusion. The pulp of cooked pequi presents ahigh energy value, as well as elevated contents of dietary fiber and lipids. It is a goodsource of vitamin C and an excellent source of vitamin A. The nutritional value and thewide availability of pequi make it an important tool for the reduction of food andnutritional insecurity.